"Commitment like 1975 can win India the Hockey World Cup": Aslam Sher Khan

Back in 1975, the Indian men’s hockey team led by Ajit Pal Singh etched their name in history by lifting India's first and last Hockey World Cup.

Fifty years later, the current men’s squad, among its various achievements, has two Olympic bronze medals - 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris - to boast of. The coveted World Cup has still eluded India. When will India win another World Cup is a question that is in the hearts and minds of hockey fans.

Aslam Sher Khan, a key member of the World Cup winning squad, believes that the Indian men's team's consistent performance in the last two Olympics is praiseworthy but the team needs to believe in itself like his team did back in 1975.

“Today we are celebrating the bronze medal at the Olympics. I remember when we returned with the bronze medal from the 1972 Munich Olympics, hum sharam se airport par nahi utar rahe they ki public ko kya muh dikhayenge. (How would we face people, we felt guilty about winning just a bronze),” Aslam Sher Khan told The Bridge on the sidelines of the Hockey India Awards.

Every member of the winning team oozes a sense of pride, a sense of satisfaction in their achievement. That was the time when there was a strong drive for excellence and settling for anything less than a gold medal was unacceptable.

“Our team is on that level. In the last two Olympics, we have made it to the top-4, but we haven’t crossed the semifinal hurdle. Jazba hona chahiye, jo hamari team mein tha. (They need to believe that they can win and that they want to win the World Cup). If the current team gets the commitment that our team had, we can bring home another World Cup,” Khan said.

Talking about the golden era that Khan was part of, his eyes light up, "Ek golden itihaas (A golden era) up to the mid-70s-75s. We had supremacy up until hockey was played on grass and artificial surfaces were not introduced. That time had a different aura. There were a lot of expectations from hockey,” he said with conviction.

At the awards, one of the most prolific scorers of his time HJS Chimni, chose to wear his 50-year-old blazer. "It is such a special day. Aaj purane din yaad aa gaye. When we achieved, no one has till now. I remember, on the day of the final all we were talking about was 'There will be 3 goals today and two will be ours'. Such was our confidence," he concluded.